Anti-microbial fabrics, garments and articles

ABSTRACT

An anti-microbial and/or anti-fungal synthetic fiber and various products made partially or wholly therefrom. Anti-microbial fabrics, garments and articles made from fibers that may comprise various thermoplastic polymers and additives in a mono-component form or a bi-component form in either a core-sheath or side-by-side configurations. The anti-microbial synthetic fibers comprise inorganic anti-microbial additives, distributed in certain areas to reduce the amount of the anti-microbial agents being used, and therefore the cost of such fibers. The fibers can incorporate anti-microbial additives so that they are not removed by repeated washing in boiling water and in dry clean cycles and become ineffective and conversely enhance access to the additives by washing or the like. The fibers comprise high tenacity polymers (e.g. PET) in one portion and hydrolysis resistance polymers (e.g. PCT) in another portion with the additives. The fibers can further be blended with non-anti-microbial fibers such as cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic, nylon etc. to provide anti-microbial finished fabrics.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a division of Ser. No. 09/565,138 filed May5, 2000, and which claims the priority of the following provisionalapplications: Ser. No. 60/136,261, filed May 27, 1999; Ser. No.60/172,285 filed Dec. 17, 1999; Ser. No. 60/172,533 filed Dec. 17, 1999;Ser. No. 60/173,207, filed Dec. 27, 1999; Ser. No. 60/180,240 filed Feb.4, 2000; Serial No. 180,536 filed Feb. 7, 2000; and Ser. No. 60/181,251filed Feb. 9, 2000, the entire content of all such applications beingincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to anti-microbial articles, and,more particularly, to fabrics, fabric construction (having qualitiesimparted to it which remain for the life of the fabric, such asexcellent color fastness without the need for a dye bath), garments andathletic wear and other articles which have anti-microbial properties.This includes garments and similar articles as well as underwear,pajamas, washable and/or disposable diapers, as well as linens, and bedpads, mattress pads or absorbent pads for bed ridden patients, toprevent bed sores. Such garments and articles may be made of wovenfabric, knitted fabric or non-woven fabric.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many patents and other forms of published information whichare available concerning garments and other articles some of which areintended for use for incontinent persons. Many of these deal with theproblem of moving body fluids away from a person's skin to prevent thetype of problems created when such fluids remain in contact with theskin for long periods of time, such as rashes and other skin eruptions.Absorbent layers are provided behind the layer which touches the skin.

However, there is the danger of infection due to bacterial and fungalgrowth in urine-soaked fabrics and the overall discomfort caused by wetclothing.

There has been little attention to a problem which remains even when thefluids are moved away from the skin. This is the problem caused bymicrobes which attach to the outer layer which touches the skin evenwhen the fluids move into the absorbent layer. These microbes cause avariety of problems.

The University of Minnesota Extension Service, Waste Education Seriespublished an article in 1998, “Infant Diapers and Incontinence Products:Choices for Families and Communities by Gahring et al relating to thissubject (hereafter “UOM Article”). This article indicates that the useof disposable diapers and incontinence products have been widely adoptedfor babies and for adults with certain problems. There is an estimatethat there are at least ten million adult Americans who are incontinent.One of the problems is rashes and skin irritation.

Moisture absorbing incontinence products are produced in various mannersincluding plastic film or coated nylon for a waterproof backing, paperfiber, gelling material, or cotton gauze; flannel for a middle absorbentlayer and nonwoven or woven or knitted fabrics made of polyester,olefin, viscose or cotton for the coverstock.

This article discusses health issues for babies relating to thecondition of the skin and to the transmission of infectious diseases.Prolonged contact with urine and stool is a major cause of diaper rash.

There are environmental problems associated with the large use ofdisposable products of this type. And this will increase as the numberof elderly people in our society increases. While disposables are placedinto landfills together with other trash, it appears that many people donot empty the contents of disposables into the toilet, and a study hasshown that diaper wastes represent a significant health hazard inlandfills. While many such products claim to be biodegradable, this isnot always correct and there is some difficulty in making the moistureimpervious layers of the plastics used in such products, biodegradable.

Also it has been found that super-absorbent disposable diapers are moreeffective than cloth diapers with separate waterproof pants/wraps. Thetransmission of infectious disease is a major concern for care, outsideof the home. The fecal containment of disposable diapers is found to besignificantly better than that of cloth diapers with plastic pants.

Thus, there still exists a need to develop garments and articles of thetype described which are made of fibers having metal-containinganti-microbials that do not cause the development of resistant bacterialstrains for incorporation into fibers that are used to make a variety offabrics. There also still exists a need for these anti-microbial agentsto be resistant to being washed away, thus maintaining their potency asan integral part of the garments and articles into which they areincorporated.

PETG as used herein means an amorphous polyester of terephthalic acidand a mixture of predominately ethylene glycol and a lesser amount of1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol. It is known that PETG can be used inpolycarbonate blends to improve impact strength, transparency,processability, solvent resistance and environmental stress crackingresistance.

Udipi discloses in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,104,934 and 5,187,230 that polymerblends consisting essentially of PC, PETG and a graft rubbercomposition, can be useful as thermoplastic injection molding resins.

Chen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,897 disclose a method for improvingthe low temperature impact strength of a thermoplastic polyblend of PETGand SAN with no adverse effect on the polyblends clarity. The polyblendsare useful in a wide variety of applications including low temperatureapplications.

Billovits et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,201 disclose that miscibleblends of a thermoplastic methylol polyester and a linear, saturatedpolyester or co-polyester of aromatic dicarboxylic acid, such as PETGand PET, have improved clarity and exhibit an enhanced barrier to oxygenrelative to PET and PETG.

Batdorf in U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,203 discloses a method of thermoformingthermoplastic substrates wherein an integral coating is formed on thethermoplastic substrate that is resistant to removal of the coating. Thecoating composition employs, in a solvent base, a pigment and athermoplastic material compatible with the to-be-coated thermoplasticsubstrate. The thermoplastic material, in cooperation with the pigment,solvent and other components of the coating composition, are, aftercoating on the thermoplastic substrate, heated to a thermoformingtemperature and the thermoplastic material is intimately fused to thethermoplastic substrate surface.

Ogoe et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,651 disclose that a blend ofpolycarbonate and chlorinated polyethylene has a desirable balance ofimpact and ignition resistance properties, and useful in the productionof films, fibers, extruded sheets, multi-layer laminates, and the like.

Hanes in U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,578 discloses that a polymer blendcomprising a monovinylarene/conjugated diene black copolymer, anamorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate), e.g. PETG, and a crystallinepoly(ethylene terephthalate), e.g. PET, has a combination of goodclarity, stiffness and toughness.

Eckart et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,539 disclose a novel thermoplasticarticle, typically in the form of sheet material, having a fabriccomprising textile fibers embedded therein. The thermoplastic article isobtained by applying heat and pressure to a laminate comprising an uppersheet material, a fabric comprised of textile fibers and a lower sheetmaterial. The upper and lower sheet materials are formed from aco-polyester, e.g. PETG. This thermoplastic article may be used in theconstruction industry as glazing for windows. One or both surface of thearticle may be textured during the formation of the articles.

Ellison in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,079 discloses a flexible compositesurfacing film for providing a substrate with desired surfacecharacteristics and a method for producing this film. The film comprisesa flexible temporary carrier film and a flexible transparent outerpolymer clear coat layer releasably bonded to the temporary carrierfilm. A pigment base coat layer is adhered to the outer clear coat layerand is visible there through, and a thermo-formable backing layer isadhered to the pigmented base coat layer. The film is produced byextruding a molten transparent thermoplastic polymer and applying thepolymer to a flexible temporary carrier thereby forming a continuousthin transparent film. The formed composite may be heated while thetransparent thermoplastic polymer film is bonded to the flexibletemporary carrier to evaporate the volatile liquid vehicle and form apigment polymer layer. The heating step also molecularly relaxes theunderlying film of transparent thermoplastic polymer to relieve anymolecular orientation caused by the extrusion. Ellison also mentionsthat it is desirable to form the flexible temporary carrier from amaterial that can withstand the molten temperature of the transparentthermoplastic polymer. The preferred flexible temporary carriers used inhis invention are PET and PETG.

Currently, many tee shirts, such as the grey athletic shirts, are madeby blending in up to 10% of either solution dyed black polyester orstock dyed cotton. The solution dyed polyester has a disadvantage inthat the product can no longer be labeled 100% cotton. The stock dyedcotton has the disadvantage in that it is not color fast, especially tobleach, and that it needs to be passed through a dye bath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The excellent wetting characteristics of PETG can be used to distributethe anti-microbial additive uniformly within a yarn or fabric. Inaddition to the carrier (e.g. a zeolite) of silver, the PETG could carryions of other inorganic anti-microbial additives such as copper, zinc,or tin in their respective carriers.

In addition to the anti-microbial component, the invention may be usedto carry pigments with the PETG to achieve certain colors without theneed to dye the other fibers.

The created synthetic fibers of polymers and additives can further beblended with non anti-microbial fibers to provide anti-microbialfinished fabrics that are able to withstand significant wear andwashings and maintain their effectiveness.

The use of a cloth diaper and a garment over it is effective, especiallywhen anti-microbial/anti-fungal fibers are used for the fibers whichhave contact with the waste matter, although beneficial effects areavailable even when the anti-microbial/anti-fungal agents are used onlyin the fibers which touch the body.

Due to the urine soaking which occurs with incontinent persons, thesegarments are suitable for the use of anti-microbial and anti-fungalfibers during their manufacture. The use of such anti-microbial materialallows these garments to be reusable without the negative effects ofpresent reusable garments of this type. The anti-microbial may be fabric(knitted or woven) plus absorbent pads. This also applies to bed pads,mattress pads or absorbent pads for bed ridden patents to prevent bedsores.

It is an object of the invention to provide garments and articlesintended for use for incontinent persons which articles haveanti-microbial and/or anti-fungal fibers in a woven or non-woven fabricof the garment or article which is in contact with such person's skin toeliminate or substantially reduce the problems caused by such microbes.

It is another object of the invention to provide such garments andarticles which may be cleaned and reused many times while maintainingthe beneficial anti-microbial qualities thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide anti-microbial fibersin the absorbent material usually used in such articles.

The present invention provides an anti-microbial finished fabric byblending the synthetic anti-microbial fibers with non-anti-microbialfibers such as cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic, nylon, and the like.

PETG is an amorphous binder fiber which can be blended into yarns withother fibers to form fabrics, as well as non-woven fabrics. After heatactivation, the PETG fiber melts, wets the surface of the surroundingfibers, and settles at the crossing points of the fibers, thus forming“a drop of glue” which bonds the fibers together and distributes theanti-microbial additives.

The excellent wetting characteristics of PETG can be used to distributethe anti-microbial additive uniformly within a yarn or fabric. Inaddition to the zeolite of silver, the PETG could carry other inorganicanti-microbial additives such as copper, zinc, or tin.

In addition to the anti-microbial component, the invention may be usedto carry pigments with the PETG to achieve certain colors without theneed to dye the other fibers.

The created synthetic fibers of polymers and additives can further beblended with non anti-microbial fibers to provide anti-microbialfinished fabrics that are able to withstand significant wear andwashings and maintain their effectiveness.

It is an object of the invention to provide a fabric formed from a fiberto which qualities may be imparted which last for the life of thefabric.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a fabric which isprovided with coloring which remains fast even to sunlight and manylaunderings.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a fabric whichis provided with a colorant without the use of a dye bath.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a fiber andfabric of the type described which possesses anti-microbial properties.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a fiber and fabricof the type described in which characteristics may be imparted usingagents which become permanently fixed and are maintained for the life ofthe fabric.

These objects and others are accomplished in accordance with the presentinvention which uses PETG:

-   -   a. As a carrier for pigments for coloration for use in finished        fabrics to withstand fading;    -   b. With pigments together with other fibers, so that the need        for conventional dyeing and disposal of dye materials is        avoided;    -   c. With pigments and other fibers, and the resulting fabric        possesses excellent fastness for both sunlight resistance and        washing;    -   d. With pigments for coloration, the color of the fabric remains        fast for in excess of 50 commercial launderings;    -   e. With pigments blended with cotton, which leaves the        encapsulated pigment attached to the outside of the cotton fiber        and ceases to be a fiber after activation, so that the resulting        fabric can still be labeled 100% cotton fiber; and    -   f. With anti-microbial and/or other additives with any natural        fibers, so that the resulting fabrics have anti-microbial and/or        other properties with the same characteristics of natural        fabrics.

PETG may be used as one of the polymer blends and/or carriers for a widevariety of applications. PETG is an amorphous binder fiber that can beblended into yarns with other fibers to form woven fabrics, as well asknits and non-woven fabrics. It has two characteristics of particularinterest: (1) excellent wetting and (2) low melting temperature (whichcan be controlled between 90° C. and 160° C.). It is used in the presentinvention as a carrier to carry pigments and/or anti-microbial additivesand/or other additives and is blended with other fibers which may benatural fibers such as cotton, silk, flax, wool, etc. or other syntheticfibers such as: PET, PP, PE, Nylon, Acrylic, etc. After heat activation,the PETG melts, continuously releases the color pigments and/oranti-microbial or other additives and wets the surface of thesurrounding fibers with the pigment and/or anti-microbial or otheradditives it carries. It settles at the crossing points of the fibers,thus forming “a drop of glue” which bonds the fibers together.Therefore, PETG delivers and distributes the pigments and/oranti-microbial or other additives uniformly within a fabric, generatingthe finished fabrics and/or fabrics having anti-microbial properties.

Since the natural fibers used to blend with PETG are not changedphysically after heat activation of PETG, they contain the samecharacteristics as natural fibers. The PETG may be used together with orwithout anti-microbial agents to form a fabric having excellent colorfastness even in the presence of sunlight, and will withstand manywashings without deterioration. The fabric is made by blending PETG usedas a carrier for pigments and/or anti-microbial additives, with cottonor any other fibers of synthetic material such as from polyester andrayon, and activating PETG from 110° to 140° C. The color is thusprovided to the yarn and fabric without the need of going through a dyebath. This fabric remains color-fast for in excess of 50 commerciallaunderings.

The excellent wetting characteristics of PETG can be used to distributethe pigments and/or anti-microbial additive uniformly within a yarn orfabric. While many anti-microbial agents may be used, such as those,which use copper, zinc, or tin, the preferred agent is zeolite ofsilver. In addition to the anti-microbial component and the pigmentadded to the PETG, the PETG may be used as a carrier to add otherproperties to yarn and fabric, such as fire retardants.

Other objects, features and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of preferred embodiments taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1B′, 1B″ and 1C are cross-sectional views of various fiberconfigurations used in practice of the various embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 2. is a sketch of a fibrous mass using one or more of the fibers ofFIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the feed hopper, screw and extruder.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the exit of the extruder showing theformation of coaxial bi-component fibers of the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are photomicrographs of fibers showing the particles ofzeolite of silver.

FIG. 7 shows a garment made from the fibers of the present invention fora person who is incontinent.

FIG. 8 is a cross section of one type of filter using the fibers of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D are diagrams of air flow systems utilizing thefibers of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross section of one type of wound care or burn dressing.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the preparation of the fibers and yarnfor use in making a woven or nonwoven fabric.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the preparation of fibers and yarn andthen of a fabric.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing another manner of preparing fibers inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic isometric view of a first type of insole usinglatex.

FIG. 15 is a schematic isometric view of a second type of insole using alayer of anti-microbial fibers.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a sheet material having an anti-microbial filmlayer co-extruded thereon.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a sheet material having two anti-microbialfilms extruded thereon, one on each side.

FIG. 18 is a side view of a further arrangement in which a double sheetmaterial is complete surrounded by an anti-microbial film.

FIG. 19 is a side view of a shaped sheet material having twoanti-microbial films extruded thereon.

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of a food tray constructed in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional view of apparatus for making amulti-layer co-extruded sheet.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view through the apparatus shown in FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is an isometric view of apparatus for making a side-by-sideco-extruded sheet.

FIG. 24 is a cross section through an insole made in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of the insole of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a cross section through a laminate for footwear components.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional exploded view through an office partition.

FIG. 28 is a schematic view of a humidifier evaporation surface mediaused to humidify air.

FIG. 29 is a schematic view of a humidifier pad or filter in a system.

FIG. 30 is a pad or filter for a circulation/aeration system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following non-limiting examples illustrate practice of the inventionfor fabrics and other articles including the making of the fiberstherefor.

EXAMPLE 1

The anti-microbial fiber of the present invention was used in the makingof a mattress pad. In this example, 15% of a 6.7 denier 76 mm cut lengthnatural white fiber was used as a homofilament with zeolite of silver asthe anti-microbial agent and 15% of a bi-component fiber was usedtogether with 70% PET 6x3 T295 in a blend in which the zeolite of silvercomprised 0.9% of the fiber. The blend of this fiber was made into abatt of about 1-1½″ thickness of nonwoven material which was then placedbetween two layers of woven fabric to form a mattress pad. When testedusing the shake flask test this provided a 99.99% microbial kill ratio.

There are other examples in which all of the parameters of Example 1were used and in each of which there was 15% of a bi-component fiberused. Again the zeolite of silver comprised 0.9% of the fiber. Thepercentage of the anti-microbial fiber ranged from 20% to 40% and thePET ranged from 45% to 65%. In all examples the microbial kill ratio was99.99% using the shake flask test.

EXAMPLE 1A

In this example, 35% of a 6.7 denier 51 mm cut length natural whitefiber was used in a sheath/core bi-component configuration with zeoliteof silver as the anti-microbial agent and 15% of another bi-componentfiber was used together with 50% PET 6x3 T295 in a blend in which thezeolite of silver comprised 1.8% of the fiber. The blend was thenprepared as in example 1 and when tested using the shake flask test,there was a 99.9% microbial kill ratio.

A second group similar to the first one was prepared in which thesheath/core bi-component fiber with zeolite of silver as theanti-microbial agent comprised from 10 to 35% of the fiber blend, 15% ofanother bi-component fiber was used and from 50 to 75% of PET 6×3 T295was used. The zeolite of silver comprised 0.75% of the fiber. In theshake flask test, there was a 99.99% microbial kill ratio.

EXAMPLE 2

In this example, 15% of a 3.5 denier 38 mm cut length PETG fiber wasused as a homofilament with zeolite of silver as the anti-microbialagent. 85% PET fiber was blended with the PETG anti-microbial fiber toform a blend in which the zeolite of silver comprised 1.8% of the fiber.The fiber was made into a wall covering and was tested by the shakeflask test, which provided a microbial kill rate of 99.99%.

A modified version was prepared the same way except that there was only10% fiber with zeolite of silver in the blend and 90% PET fiber wasused. After the fiber was made into a wall covering, this too provided a99.99% microbial kill rate using the shake flask method of testing.

A further modified version was used in which there was only 5% fiberhaving zeolite of silver in the blend and 95% PET fiber in the blend.The testing, after the fiber was used in a wall covering, again provideda 99.99% microbial kill rate for bacteria.

The fibers described above can be used to make both woven and nonwovenfabrics as well as knitted fabrics. Such fabrics are useful for varioustypes of articles, some of which are listed below:

Incontinent garments, including disposable diapers, underwear, pajamas,and linens, some of which may be knitted. This is disclosed, forexample, in pending provisional application Ser. No. 60/173,207 filedDec. 27, 1999, the contents of which are physically incorporated hereinbelow, in which garments and other articles for incontinent persons madeof an anti-microbial fiber comprises various thermoplastic polymers andadditives in a mono-component or bi-component form in either acore-sheath or side-by-side configurations. The anti-microbial syntheticfibers can comprise inorganic anti-microbial additives, distributed onlyin certain areas in order to reduce the amount of the anti-microbialagents being used, and therefore the cost of such fibers. Theanti-microbial additives used in the synthetic fibers do not wash offover time because they are integrally incorporated into these fibers,thus their effectiveness is increased and prolonged. The anti-microbialsynthetic fibers comprise high tenacity polymers (e.g. PET) in onecomponent and hydrolysis resistance polymers (e.g. PCT) in anothercomponent. The hydrophilic and anti-microbial additives provide ahydrolysis-resistant surface with good wrinkle resistance that resultsin long-term protection against washings in boiling water and strongsoaps. The anti-microbial synthetic fibers can further be blended withnon-anti-microbial fibers such as cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic,nylon etc. to provide anti-microbial finished fabrics that are able towithstand significant wear and washings and while maintaining theireffectiveness. The invention further comprises a method for making afiber blend which includes mixing a polyester polymer, characterized bya low melting temperature and having binder qualities, with an additivefor providing desired characteristics to a finished fiber. The mixtureis heated and extruded to form a continuous filament. The continuousfilament fiber is cut to form a cut filament fiber. The cut filamentfiber is blended with a natural fiber to form a fiber blend. The fiberblend is heated to a temperature in the melting temperature range ofsaid polyester polymer for a sufficient period of time to melt the lowmelting temperature polyester polymer and wet the natural fiber andprovide such natural fiber with the additive firmly attached thereto.The polyester polymer may be PETG. After the fiber is prepared it may bespun to make a yarn and the yarn may be made into a fabric. The heatingstep can take place after the yarn is made into a fabric. The additivemay be a colorant, an anti-microbial agent, a fire retarding agent, oranother agent which adds properties to the fiber or yarn or fabric.There is another method for making a fiber, which includes mixing apolyester polymer, characterized by a low melting temperature and havingbinder qualities, with an additive for providing desired characteristicsto a finished fiber, heating the mixture and extruding it to form acontinuous filament. Another polymer is heated and extruded to form acontinuous filament. The extruding steps form a bi-component fiber withthe mixture forming the sheath and the other polymer forming the core.The sheath is heated to a temperature in the melting temperature rangeof the polyester polymer for a sufficient period of time to melt the lowmelting temperature polyester polymer and wet the core fiber and providethe core fiber with the additive firmly attached thereto. Officepartition and office component fabrics can be made in accordance withthe present invention. An example is shown in FIG. 27 which is a crosssection through an office partition in which there is a multi-layerpartition having a filling layer 240, a fabric layer 242 on one side anda third layer 244 which may also be of fabric or can be of a solidmaterial. Office type partitions walls can be portable or semi-portabledividers of open area for personnel work stations and other assignedwork and waiting areas for employees and clients. The fiber can bewholly or partly synthetic fibers which is mono-or multi-component andcan be used with other synthetic or natural fibers to form a variety offabrics uses as wall covering and/or wall fillers. Partitions of thistype are used in office factory, storage and customer service areas.They are provided with fabric surfaces (woven, knits, or non-woven) foraesthetic reasons, sound absorption and/or to cushion impacts. They mayalso be divided with internal fabric or loose fiber fills forcushioning, wall covering substrate support and sound and/or thermalinsulation purposes. The anti-microbial agent is incorporated into thefibers in one or both of the outer layers 240 and 244. This can includefabrics for office, hospital, waiting area, classrooms, busses, cars,and the like and also curtains, upholstery, carpets and bedspreads. Inaddition to the anti-microbial agent, other materials can be added tothe fibers such as pigments, fire retardants, color fixing agents, andUV resistant agents. Partitions are assembled, disassembled, moved andreassembled with some frequency. This and traffic around such partitionscreates an environment for spread of airborne or contact transmitteddisease, and partitions are frequently touched. This invention providespartition systems and other articles of the type described. Ananti-static agent can be added to assist in dissipating static chargeswhich create problems, for example, when computers are being used. Theproduct remains intact when subjected to normal cleaning and can beassembled by being needle punched, resin bonded wet laid, thermo-bonded,and spun bond. In office environments there is the spillage of food andspills from office supply and janitorial materials and simple handcontact on wall surfaces. These and other environmental insults have thepotential to leave residues that can be good substrates for the growthof bacteria, mold and other microbes. They can be in moist environmentsand the partitions are site for growth, and also from airborne microbes.Athletic wear clothing and liners, including athletic wear liners madefrom a wholly or partly synthetic fiber that can be wither mono-ormulti-component in nature, and binder fibers both staple and filament,with anti-microbial properties and which can be used with othersynthetic or natural fibers to form a variety of fabrics and materials.Athletic wear is subject to the accumulation of bacteria, fungi, andassociated odors that can proliferate in the presence of sweat and otherbodily secretions that result from strenuous exercise in this type ofclothing. This type of product may be made using anti-microbial fibers,and which for some applications are provided with a layer which touchesthe skin and wicks away the sweat to make a more comfortable garment (orliner) and this type of article benefits from the use of anti-microbialfibers in at least one layer. They can include T-shirts, crotch liners,bicycle pants and shirts, sweat suits, athletic supporters, stretchpants, long underwear, and athletic socks. Because this type of clothingis constantly and intermittently being soaked with sweat and broughtinto contact with dirt and associated materials, they are subject tobacterial and fungal growth as well as to the development of associatedodors. By manufacturing this clothing with lining materials made, atleast partially, of the anti-microbial fibers of this invention, growthof microbes could be reduced. In addition, the exacerbation of microbialgrowth and resultant odor production upon storage of this type ofclothing in bags over time could be reduced. These anti-microbialfiber-containing clothing is useful in reducing the growth of bacteria,fungi, and other microbes once soaked with sweat, thus reducingassociated odors and the discomfort of the individual. Specifically, theanti-microbial-fiber containing fabrics may be used in the interiorlinings of shirts and pants or shorts, such as those used in running andbicycling. These anti-microbial fibers may also be used in themanufacture of athletic clothing that does not have linings. This typeof athletic clothing is then able to be used for long periods of timewhile maintaining its anti-microbial and anti-odor properties because ofits resistance to multiple washings. In addition, the methods describedabove could also be used to produce clothing dyed in a variety of colorsthat would possesses the characteristics of inhibiting microbial growthand its associated odors, thus increasing its versatility.Anti-microbial fibers can be used to make materials for a variety ofapplications in which it is necessary or desirable to reduce bacterialand fungal growth and the resultant odor. Specifically, in personalhygiene situations, these materials can be used in reusable orre-wearable incontinent garments and other articles such as linens andbed pads, mattress pads or absorbent pads to prevent bed sores onpersons confined to bed for extended periods of time. Diapers and otherclothing and articles for incontinent individuals are constantly andintermittently being soaked with urine and these items as nowmanufactured are not effective at killing odor and infection-causingbacteria. By making these items disposable, the growth of bacteria andfungi is reduced depending upon how often they are changed, but thereare environmental and other considerations to disposables. However, theuse of the anti-microbial fibers in such garments and articles thatmaintain their effectiveness during washings, results in reusablegarments and articles of the type described with odor reducing andanti-microbial properties which last for the life of such garments andarticles.

As a result of the above, the use of anti-microbial fibers in themanufacture of incontinent garments is desirable. These anti-microbialfiber-containing garments are useful in reducing the growth of bacteria,fungi, and other microbes once soaked with urine, thus reducing thediscomfort of the individual and preventing infections generally.Specifically, the anti-microbial fiber-containing fabrics may be used inboth the covering fabric and the water absorbent interior material. Inthis way, both surface and interior protection is achieved. In addition,these materials may also be made to be reusable because theanti-microbial effect of the fibers of these garments and articles areresistant to multiple washings. Thus, a significant cost savings isrealized in the laundry operations of hospitals and nursing homes aswell as in the economics of individual households.

In manufacturing these materials, any of the fiber embodiments describedbelow could be used. Both the strength and resiliency of these materialsis important since they must stand up to multiple wettings andsubsequent cleanings. Thus, both bi-component fibers and mixed fiberfabrics are useful embodiments for incontinent garments. Also, othermodifications of the characteristics of these fibers and fabrics beyondthat of adding anti-microbial agents, including the addition of agentsto increase or decrease hydrophobicity, are useful in view of therepeated wettings and the need for frequent cleanings and washings. Inaddition, anti-odor additives may be particularly useful in thisapplication in light of this frequency of cleaning, as well as thewetting with urine. Thus, these anti-microbial materials, garments andarticles significantly reduce the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteriain home and institutional environments.

Garments for incontinent persons are made of anti-microbial fibersdesigned to use inorganic silver-containing compounds that areintegrated into the polymers that are used to make these anti-microbialfibers. However, other metals (such as copper, potassium, magnesium, andcalcium) can be used as anti-microbial agents. In addition, mixtures ofdifferent metal-containing anti-microbial agents in differingconcentrations can be used that result in hybrid agents tailored forspecific tasks.

Such garments may be knitted or woven and include underwear, pajamas,linens, disposable diapers, and the like.

One type of such garment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7 inwhich there is a garment 34 which carries a removable liner assembly 36which is detachably secured within the garment. The liner assemblyincludes an outer layer 33 which contacts the skin of a wearer 44 aroundthe buttocks and crotch area. This layer is made to be smooth and softso as to be comfortable for the wearer even when fluids such as urinecontact this layer and pass therethrough. There is a wick layer 35 whichchanges color when it is wet so that attendants can see from a distancethat a wearer is wet and needs to receive some attention, such as thechanging of the liner assembly. Beyond the layer 35 is an absorbentlayer 31 formed of a mass of fibers. There is an inner layer 37 which isimpervious to fluids so that the fluids such as urine do not wet and/orstain the outer layer of clothing. The liner assembly 36 is heldtogether by soft fiber connectors, 38. The liner itself may be removablyattached to the basic garment with Velcro so that it is easily removableand changed.

The liners 36 may be constructed to be washable so that they can bereused, or can be made to be disposable. The garment has a belt 42 forholding the garment in place.

The outer layer 33 is made of anti-microbial fiber of the type describedin further detail below so that there is protection from microbes andfungus which causes infection and odors.

Layer 33 is made to be a porous fiber material which will draw anymoisture from the wearer by wick action away from the wearer's skin andinto the absorbent liner. Since the layer 33 is always against thewearer's skin and at least at times is wet from urine, there is the riskof infection which, with the present invention is prevented, due to thelayer 33 being constructed of anti-microbial fibers, the construction ofwhich is described in more detail above.

The absorbent material 31 of the liner 36 may also be made of non-wovenfibrous material which is also anti-microbial if desired.

Anti-microbial fibers may be made into other products intended forincontinent persons, such as bed linens, and bed pads, mattress pads orabsorbent pads which are used to prevent bed sores in persons who areconfined to bed for extended periods of time. Such products provide afirst line of attack against problems caused by microbes especially whenused in all areas of the products which come into contact with aperson's skin.

Higher loading of the anti-microbial agents (up to 5 times) is used tomore effectively act against fungi. This higher loading may be achievedby using various zeolites followed by heating the fiber polymer, e.g.PET, to between 180 and 230 degrees Fahrenheit in hot water which allowsfurther metal loading or ion exchange to replace resident metal ionswith another ion or mixture of ions. In addition, this would allow thezeolite at or near the surface of the fiber to be preferentially loadedwith the metal ion or mixtures thereof that has the desired biologicaleffect. These methods are particularly useful in reducing costs whenexpensive metal ions, such as silver, are used in these processes. Also,by adding certain metals, e.g. silver, at this point in the process andnot having it present during the high temperature fiber extrusionprocess, any yellowing or discoloration due to oxidation of the metalion or its exposure to sulfur and halogens would be greatly reduced.

Nautical fabrics can be made at least in part using the anti-microbialfibers of the present invention and are particularly useful for thistype of application in which the fabrics are constantly wet and subjectto mildew.

It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that otherembodiments, improvements, details, and uses can be made consistent withthe letter and spirit of the foregoing disclosure and within the scopeof this patent, which is limited only by the following claims, construedin accordance with the patent law, including the doctrine ofequivalents.

1-84. (canceled)
 85. An anti-microbial fabric, comprising: a textilearticle including at least one layer being made at least in part of amulti-component fiber of thermoplastic polymers, the fiber including acore of thermoplastic polymer being at least 20 and less than 70% of thefiber by weight, and a sheath being more than 30% of the fiber by weightand including (i) a thermoplastic polymer and (ii) ananti-microbial/anti-fungal inorganic additive being from 0.1% to 20% byweight of fiber, the thickness of the sheath in microns beingapproximately two times the nominal particle size in microns of theadditive.
 86. An anti-microbial fabric, comprising: a textile articleincluding at least one layer being made at least in part of abi-component fiber comprising a core of a high tenacity polymer being atleast 20 and less than 70% of the fiber by weight, and a sheath of ahydrolysis resistant polymer being at least 30% of the fiber by weight,and including an additive ranging from 0.1% to 20% by weight of thefiber and being selected from the group consisting of pigments,compounds creating a hydrophilic surface, and anti-microbial,anti-fungal and anti-odor materials.
 87. An anti-microbial fabric,comprising: a textile article including at least one layer comprising abinder fiber made from low temperature polymer with a melting orsoftening temperature below 200 degrees C., an anti-microbial additiveof an inorganic compound made from a metal chosen from the groupconsisting of copper, zinc, tin and silver added to the binder fiber,the additive ranging from 0.1 to 20% by weight of the fiber, and fiberswhich are free of anti-microbial additive being blended with said binderfiber, said blend of fibers having been heated to its meltingtemperature, thereby providing a fiber blend which can be used toproduce an anti-microbial finished fabric able to withstand significantwear and washings and maintain its effectiveness.
 88. The fabric of anyof claims 85-87, wherein the textile article is prepared of wovenfabric, non-woven fabric, or knitted fabric.
 89. The fabric of any ofclaims 85-87, wherein the textile article is a diaper.
 90. The fabric ofany of claims 85-87, wherein the textile article includes an absorbentpad.
 91. The fabric of any of claims 85-87, wherein the textile articlefurther includes a wick layer and an absorbent layer.
 92. The fabric ofclaim 91, wherein the layer which is intended to be against a wearer'sskin is made of anti-microbial fibers.
 93. The fabric of any of claims85-87, wherein in at least part of the textile article PETG is used asthe carrier for color pigments.
 94. The fabric of claim 93, wherein thePETG has been melted as a low temperature and has had an anti-microbialand/or a colorant added thereto prior to melting.
 95. The fabric of anyof claims 85-87, forming at least part of a multi-layer partition or asa fabric for office, hospital, waiting area, classrooms, busses, cars,and the like and also curtains, upholstery, carpets and bedspreads. 96.The fabric of any of claims 85-87, forming at least in partinstitutional and home furnishings, including bed sheets, pillow cases,bed pad, bed linens, absorbent pads, mattress pads, blankets, towels,drapes, bedspreads, pillow shams, carpets, walk-off mats, napkins,linens, wall coverings, upholstered furniture, liners, mattress ticking,mattress filling, pillow filling, carpet pads, and upholstery fabric.97. The fabric of any of claims 85-87, forming at least in part athleticclothing, athletic wear liners and component fabrics.
 98. The fabric ofany of claims 85-87, forming at least in part a laundry bag.
 99. Thefabric of any of claims 85-87, forming at least in part a nauticalfabric.
 100. The fabric of any of claims 85-87, forming at least a partof a piece of apparel.
 101. The fabric of claim 100, wherein the apparelis at least one of underwear, pajamas, athletic clothing, clothingliners, T-shirts, bicycle pants and shirts, crotch liners, sweat suits,athletic supporters, stretch pants, long underwear, and socks.